CubCrafters Acquires Summit Aircraft Skis

CubCrafters has announced the acquisition of Summit Aircraft Skis. The backcountry aircraft company acquired the Summit Aircraft Skis, including design and manufacturing assets, patents and intellectual property.

Summit Aircraft Skis are used by many Carbon Cub owners and owners of other non-CubCrafters manufactured backcountry capable aircraft. The ski design allows pilots to configure their aircraft to fly in many remote and primitive areas otherwise inaccessible in the winter when many runways are not maintained.

“We are very excited and pleased to welcome Summit’s customers and products into our family here in Yakima,” CubCrafters President and CEO Patrick Horgan said. “It has been a joy for our team to work together with Mike Custard, Summit’s founder, to coordinate a smooth ski manufacturing transition. Adding Summit Skis to the CubCrafters product lineup allows us to better meet our customers’ needs and adds a new profit center. We see a great potential for growth with the Summit brand that we want to be a part of going forward.”

Horgan continued that the acquisition brings the two companies together to promote a robust patented design that significantly improves value for consumers. The manufacturing of skis has already begun in Yakima and Summit Skis will continue to be available on both CubCrafters aircraft and competing aircraft from other manufacturers as well.

“Summit Skis, when combined with the outstanding wintertime defrost and cabin heater technology used on our FX-3 model, makes that aircraft the ultimate ski airplane,” CubCrafters VP Brad Damm said. “The acquisition is part of an ambitious growth and business development strategy that has been supported by the outstanding early success of our recently announced public stock offering.”

CubCrafters recently qualified to make a $50 million public stock offering under Regulation A+, allowing investors at any level to purchase stock in the company for the first time.

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The founder of Summit Aircraft Corporation Mike Custard noted that the Summit Ski design was unlike traditional industry products in that it used a patented bolt-on attachment bracket which eliminates the need to weld skis to the landing gear. This design also allows for lower weight and lower profile aerodynamics than other competitors.

“Our like-minded drive for high-quality innovation is one of the main reasons we chose CubCrafters as our successor,” Custard said. “CubCrafters’ leadership, its people, and facilities are all outstanding. The tooling and construction techniques are familiar to the CubCrafters’ composites facility and staff.”

“I will remain onboard for some time to ensure that the transition is smooth and that this is a great move for both our customers and the future of aircraft ski development and manufacturing,” Custard said.